Preparing for ISBT 128

Blood Centers of the Pacific has developed an ISBT Implementation Guide to help our customers with the ISBT 128 transition. You can contact your blood center to request a hard copy of the Guide, which includes a CD version. The Guide has also been made available here via PDF download:

Cover Page

Table of Contents

Section A: Intro. to the Implementation Guide

Section B: Educational Materials

Section C: Basics & Implementation Overview (PDF version)
Section C: Basics & Implementation Overview (Powerpoint presentation)

Section D: Road Map Guide

Section E: Sample Implementation Template (PDF version)
Section E: Sample Implementation Template (Word version)

Section F: Resource Contacts List

P.A.C.E.® Program Now Available For ISBT 128

Blood Centers of the Pacific is proud to be approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E.® Program. The following program is now available in CD format and is available free of charge to our customers:

ISBT 128: International Society for Blood Transfusion
Blood Product Labeling
Program Number 605-025-06 (Program expires on 12/31/08)
Overview: This course will provide education to anyone involved in ISBT Implementation. We will specifically review the major differences between the current blood product labeling using Codabar and the new labeling using ISBT 128. ISBT 128 labeling has many advantages over Codabar. These advantages will be discussed in detail in this presentation. In addition, some suggested implementation strategies will be briefly outlined.
Level of Instruction: Beginning/Basic
Contact Hours: 1.5

Download a PDF of all of our P.A.C.E.® program offerings here. Contact the Hospital Services Director to find how you can take advantage of this free continuing education for your staff.

To-Do List for Hospitals & Transfusion Services

Below is a “To-Do List” for our hospitals and transfusion services that are preparing to implement their ISBT 128 transition. This list is published here with permission from the International Council for Commonality in Blood Banking Automation (ICCBBA).

1) Register with ICCBBA if your transfusion service is computerized or you intend to use ISBT 128 for products collected or modified in house. If you have not already registered with ICCBBA, contact them by fax [(919) 489-3009] and request registration information. If your facility does not modify blood products, you do not have to register.

2) Assign responsibility to develop an implementation plan and coordinate its progress. Download ICCBBA's conversion plan to help.

3) Determine training objectives for the transfusion service staff and blood administration personnel. Assign responsibility for developing and implementing a training plan. BCP offers Quality Source consulting and training.

4) Identify those SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) that will require revision. Assign responsibility for revising SOPs in a timely manner.

5) Determine whether modified blood components will be labeled with pre-printed (purchased) or on-demand printed labels. On-demand labels may require the use of separate software and a dedicated label printer.

6) Determine how change control will be monitored.

7) Determine how look-backs will be handled.

8) Ensure that all critical process control points are addressed as defined by your quality plan.

Additional Steps for those Transfusion Services with Computerized Product Inventories:

9) Determine the need for software changes to accommodate ISBT 128. This may include: software upgrades from vendor, assessing the need to change or expanding the facility product code database and assessing the impact of ISBT 128 on other departments.

10) Determine the need for hardware changes to accommodate ISBT 128. This may include: evaluating printers for capability to print ISBT 128 barcodes, assessing the need to reconfigure barcode readers, evaluating the ability to autodiscriminate between ISBT 128 and other barcode languages (specifically Codabar), and assessing the ability of the barcode reader to use concatenation (reading multiple barcodes at once) as well as deciding if this feature will be utilized by your facility.

11) Select component product codes that will be used for on-site collections or modifications to blood products.

12) Establish a plan for handling units labeled with ISBT 128 if software/hardware changes cannot be made before Blood Centers of the Pacific begins shipping the new labels.

13) Assign responsibility for development and implementation of a validation plan for all software and hardware changes.

14) Determine capability for handling both ABC Codabar and ISBT 128 during the transition period and for the duration of the frozen inventory.

15) Assess potential impact of ISBT 128 bar code labels on the clinical laboratory or medical records department.

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